Here's to you, Class of 2013

Their high school years have been marked by crowded classrooms, teacher layoffs and prominent political rallies staged to protest budget cuts to public education.

The class of 2013 has persevered through some of the leanest times for schools locally and statewide.

Now, with brighter fiscal times on the horizon, an estimated 32,000 seniors attending San Diego County’s diverse school system — charters, virtual academies, and college hybrids among them — will done caps and gowns, march to “Pomp and Circumstance” and accept their diplomas as graduation season is upon us.

This year’s crop of graduates have a lot to be proud of.

More of you are expected to participate in commencement ceremonies as countywide graduation rates have increased every year you’ve been in high school, and are predicted to reach 80 percent with your class.

You are also taking more rigorous courses. About 37% of California’s high school graduates last year took at least one AP exam, up from 29% in 2007. Nearly a quarter of them passed at least one AP exam — the eighth-highest rate in the nation.

Congratulations to the class of 2013.

What follows are snapshot profiles of a handful of students. After that are comments from students from across the county about what a high school diploma means to them.

Arnelle Sambile wasn’t crazy about the uniform, but decided to join Mira Mesa High School’s JROTC program as a freshman on a whim.

Four years later she has been selected by the California Air Force Association as Cadet of the Year, beating out 6,000 students from the across the state for the top honor.

What does a highly decorated wing commander of the largest cadet corps in the state do after high school?

Don’t expect to see Arnelle slogging through boot camp. She plans to study English at San Diego State University and hopes to one day become a professor in the subject — quite a feat considering she once dreaded speaking to crowds.

“Before high school I was shy and I didn’t know what I wanted to do or where I was going to fit in,” said Arnelle, whose mother immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines. “JROTC has helped me so much. The camaraderie, the leadership skills, the tutoring has all been amazing.”

Arnelle is among some 3,000 JROTC students in the county. About 10 percent of them pursue the military after graduation.

“We are not here as a recruiting tool. We do a lot more than drilling and twirling rifles,” said David Guzman, who oversees the San Diego Unified School District’s Junior Officer Training Corps program. “Too many kids slip through the cracks. JROTC becomes their family. We teach them character and how to live a healthy lifestyle.” MAUREEN MAGEE • U-T